Patriot Teacher Info
Summarizing
Some summarizing activities
....adapted from Marzano and other notables in education research...
Give each student of Collaborative Pair a piece of construction paper. Ask
them to choose a key concept from their reading/learning and represent that
visually with drawings, symbols, etc. Hang all of them with clothespins on a
line in an area of the classroom. Encourage them use the “clothesline” as an
interactive concept/word wall whenever they are asked to summarize.
Following Directions:
Have students guide their partners through specific steps or processes by
giving detailed directions that the partner must follow explicitly. This might
be modeled in a fun way using the old “making a peanut butter sandwich”
game, where one person gives directions for making a peanut butter sandwich
and the partner has to just the steps dictated.
Stand the Line (1 step in, 1 step back):
Put a piece of masking tape down the center of the classroom. Have students
stand on either side of the tape, about two steps away. Pose a series of
prompts for which students must take a stand. Direct students to take one
step in/toward the line if they agree, or one step back from the line if they
disagree. Randomly ask given students to share their thinking verbally.
Bloom’s Taxonomy Summary Cubes:
Provide for students “cubes” with one of Bloom’s levels of learning on each
side. Ask each Collaborative Pair to roll the cube; one student in the pair then
asks a question based on the level of learning rolled (analyze, evaluate,
synthesize, etc.) of his/her partner about the learning. The other student gives
a response.
Expert Groups/Jigsaw:
Form expert groups for each “chunk” of a segment of reading/learning.
Allow time for each expert group to discuss and summarize its “chunk.”
Then jigsaw the groups so that each new group has one member of each
expert group. Direct each expert in the newly formed groups to summarize
their “chunk” for their new group members.
...and remember to express ideas so that people will take notice:
Read like...
...a detective--focus on context clues, details, main ideas.
Write like...
...an investigative reporter- start with a topic and provide details and evidence to support your claim.
Listen like...
...a safe cracker--listen for key concepts and information that is important and relevant.